“I thought it was a great pickup for what we got him for,” Perkins said by phone from Texas. “Shaq is a Hall of Famer. He can always help us. I think it was a great pickup. I am glad that he is on the team. We just got one goal, and that’s just trying to win the ring.”

Perkins right now is just focusing on his rehab.

“I’ve been doing a lot of rehabbing, make sure I get my work in every day,” he said. “Make sure I keep my weight down, just taking it one day at a time. I’m walking without crutches, so that’s a plus. The swelling is my leg went down so everything’s coming around pretty quickly. Right now I can’t work out like I want to, I can’t hoop. But everything else is doing great.”

Rehab is hard work, but Perkins is really all about hard work, no problem there. He’s going to have to fight to get that starting job back come January when he returns, but that is good for Perkins. Gives him a goal. It is good for the Celtics too.